Phil Hay's verdict: Kids are lighting up the way ahead for Leeds United

The club’s Under-18s won their half of the Professional Development League on Saturday, hustling Bolton Wanderers while the chips were down, and a few hours later Tom Pearce did his bit to keep their eye on the real prize.

Pearce was eligible for Leeds Under-18s squad as recently as two years ago and there was disbelief in his reaction when a first senior goal fell for him in the 2-1 win over Barnsley, on his third senior appearance. The speed with which he has grown into the turbulence around him should stop him rubbing his eyes. Like Bailey Peacock-Farrell, United’s surprisingly ripened goalkeeper, the second half of the season has been a footballing crisis at the right time for Pearce, opening a door which might have stayed close.

The academy, as is traditionally the case, is one area of the club which is genuinely working and working better than last season; the solace beneath a first team who need the chance to regroup, replenish and, to some degree, break up. Pearce’s 17th-minute goal contributed to a 2-1 win over Barnsley on Saturday and there was satisfaction there too: only the third time Elland Road has seen a victory this side of New Year and gratification for Paul Heckingbottom in a vitriolic atmosphere.

United’s stadium has seen far worse and Heckingbottom was ready for the fall-out after jumping from Barnsley, his boyhood club, to take charge of Leeds in February. Barnsley’s away following made full use of the dictionary and one supporter was held back as Heckingbottom walked to the tunnel after the game. He had stood on the pitch for several minutes at full-time, inviting abuse with no more acknowledgement than a wry smile.

Saturday’s result was a blessing for the 40-year-old, a result he needed for the sake of his current employers, but the breakdown of relations with Barnsley must hurt. He occupied almost every position of note at Oakwell, from the terraces to the dug-out with two seasons as a player in between, but blood can be thinner than water when local allegiance comes into play. For the first time this season he avoided the post-match press conference and sent his assistant Jamie Clapham instead.

“I can’t answer for Paul but for me it’s great to get three points,” Clapham said. “It was an emotional day leading up to it because everywhere you go, there are a lot of good people in football clubs. Barnsley was no different.

“It added to the game because of who it was and where we’d come from. It’s only something you’d expect but I’m sure he’s down there delighted.” Was Heckingbottom deliberately keeping a low profile with the media afterwards? “It was always something we’d discussed for this game, with me coming up to do it,” Clapham said. “It just gives you a fresh look at anything.”

Clapham was a different voice and he cut an upbeat figure, unconvinced by the claim that he and Heckingbottom have been under the cosh two-and-a-half months at Leeds. “Not really, no, I don’t see it like that,” he said. “We didn’t get the results early on. The performances were there but individual errors cost us results and at that time you have to make big decisions on what you do with individuals.”

Those decisions from Heckingbottom have focused largely on the core of youth players directly below his squad. Academy progression presents an obvious route of travel when a season is blowing in the wind but there is more method in United’s plan than simply blooding prospects. Next season, Leeds want a smaller squad and a framework which makes their better Under-23 players the first port of call when numbers run short. It is a promise to Pearce, Peacock-Farrell and centre-back Paudie O’Connor that their promotion from the first team is not virtue signalling at a time when so little is at stake.

Pearce claimed his goal on Saturday with a driving run out of midfield, swallowing up a slack pass from Bradley Potts and sprinting to the edge of the box. His shot took a deflection and found the far corner of Adam Davies’ net.

“He was on the front foot,” said Clapham, a left-back in his time. “All the youngsters have done really well.” O’Connor also recorded his first goal but into the wrong net, unable to readjust when the pace of Ezekiel Fryers cross in the 36th minute beat Pontus Jansson’s attempt to clear it. The ball smacked against O’Connor’s legs and flicked beyond Peacock-Farrell.

Barnsley were testing Leeds’ nerve either side of the equaliser and Peacock-Farrell’s held in first-half injury time when Connor Mahoney danced through Heckingbottom’s defence and drilled a low shot goalwards. Peacock-Farrell tipped it wide.

Clapham confessed to “strong words” at half-time. “It’s a summing up of the season I’d say,” he said. “The first 15, 20 minutes I thought we were exceptional. We got the goal but after the goal for some unknown reason we switched off. We weren’t on the front foot, we weren’t getting the press right, we were getting so much wrong. You could see the equaliser was coming for them. We had to have a talk and a strong word about forward runners. And at the start of the second half, we did it.”

Pearce was involved in the winning goal six minutes after the interval but the credit belonged to Kemar Roofe, taking a pass form the left-back down the wing, reaching the byline and cracking in a cross which Barnsley could not defend. Alioski was there to convert it with a sliding finish.

The ripostes from Barnsley were isolated but dicey. Oli McBurnie, a player who Heckingbottom is expect to court in the summer, turned Mahoney’s cross into the net but celebrated without seeing an offside flag.

Kieffer Moore, Jose Morais’ first substitute, contrived to trundle the ball wide when Peacock-Farrell gloved a cross from Hammill to his feet. Hammill claimed a penalty in the 88th minute as Matthew Pennington ran to challenge him in the box but referee Stephen Martin booked him for diving.

“We should have a penalty,” said Morais. “This is my opinion.” Much more of this and Barnsley will be relegated. Four minutes earlier, Heckingbottom had replaced Saiz after an outing which did not show the best of him. Saiz reacted by kicking away a water bottle and rapping his shinpads on the dug-out. As a complaint about his performance, the frustration was understandable. As a complaint about the substitution, it was somewhat naive about his impact since a ban for spitting in January.

“I didn’t see him kick the water bottle,” Clapham said. “I shook his hand when he went off but I was focusing on the game.

“You want that passion and you want them to be able to do that. But first and foremost the passion has to show on the pitch. If he’s disappointed with being substituted, that’s part and parcel of the game. In order to make the team click we needed everyone to perform and it’s not just the starting XI that wins you matches. It’s everyone that’s involved and we’ll make that clear.”

The kids are doing it for him.